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Joan Tyler Profile
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| (Joan T. Meseke) |
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| c. 33 | is born |
| ? | resides in Long Island |
| February 52 | she and Sidney Chaplin have discovered each other |
| March 52 | is seen at the Cove with Sidney Chaplin |
| her escort at the Crescendo is actor Franchot Tone |
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| August 52 | columnist Walter Winchell reports that Vic Damone asked her "to be Mrs. Vic after his Army discharge in September..." |
| January 53 | columnist Earl Wilson reports that "Vic Damone will marry Texas heiress Joan Tyler when he gets out of uniform in February" |
| March 53 | columnist Harrison Carroll knows that "Vic Damone is back and Joan Tyler is the girl who met him at the airport" |
| June 53 | Damone is reported calling her from New York almost every night, as well as Mona Freeman |
| August 53 | she and Travis Kleefeld, Jane Wyman's former fiancé, are a steady Holiday House two |
| ? | is tested in Warner SuperScope "that's still so secret she wasn't even allowed to see the results. Joan was plucked by a movietown agent off a TV image - she was the doll Lanny Ross sang to on his home screen show - and after a year of dramatic training, stardust is about to be sprinkled in her hair." |
| September 53 | shows up at the Luau with producer Bert Friedlob. But she's "not the ground for Eleanor Parker's rift with Friedlob." |
| October 53 | takes Damone to the airport. "They spent the earlier part of the evening at the Encore Room." |
| February 54 | she and Mona Knox are the Manhattan roommates of Susan Zanuck, daughter of Darryl. All three try for TV. |
| July 54 | says she and Damone are through |
| August 54 | columnist Walter Winchell reports the old feeling still blazing between her and Damone. "Hotter than the thermometer..." |
| November 54 | is seen out with oil millionaire Arthur Cameron |
| February 55 | she and singer Al Martino are reported very much interested in each other at the Villa Capri |
| c. 15 March 56 | says she expects to marry comedian George Jessel. He's 57; she's about 22. "She expects to announce her forthcoming engagement this weekend in New York." |
| 16 March 56 | Jessel announces his engagement to her and reports that he has bought an "affectionate little ring for the third finger of her left hand." He's in New York City awaiting her arrival from Hollywood. |
| 27 March 56 | she and Jessel are pictured enjoying themselves in the Cotillion Room of the Pierre hotel |
| Early April 56 | Jessel orders another ring for her to go with the 3 carat rock |
| Late April 56 | columnist Leonard Lyons knows that "the April winds off Santa Monica inspired George Jessel to take Joan Tyler to the amusement park. It was raining and the midway was empty but such things never deter a couple in love. They were the only ones to ride the carousel, to have their weight guessed, and to try the shooting range. That's were Miss Tyler's purse, containing a box of her uninsured jewelry, was stolen. The press announced this theft. The jewels were returned to Jessel with a note, 'We didn't know it was yours' - plus an extra pair of gold cufflinks for George." |
| May 56 | Jessel says: "I asked her to marry me but if she's wise, she won't" |
| June 56 | will be nearby when Jessel leaves soon for a speaking tour of Europe and Africa |
| July 56 | Winchell asks: "Wasn't Georgie Jessel kind to Joan Tyler in Paris, or why did she fly home solo?" |
| Late July 56 | Jessel's favorite date since his break with her is "stunning Cookie Gordon. They were at the Eldorado." |
| July 56 | columnist Earl Wilson reports "George Jessel, back from Europe, says his Joan Tyler fling is kaput..." |
| August 56 | when asked by a magazine writer how a mature man-of-the-world can carry a torch for her, as he does, Jessel says: "First I suggest you get answers to that question from four other mature men-of-the-world: Marc Antony, Van Gogh, the Duke of Windsor, and Darryl Zanuck." |
| 8 October 56 | marries Antonio "Tony" Ruffo, Jr., a Mexican banker, in Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 22 February 57 | her daughter Laura is born |
| April 58 | is back again with Jessel |
| June 58 | will seek a Mexican divorce from Ruffo |
| October 58 | is taken to the Five Spot by Brazilian millionaire Jorge Guinle. They listen to Thelonious Monk. |
| April 59 | burns when she reads that Tony Ruffo has gone to Hollywood "from Mexico and is dating another beauty. She said she wished he would get in touch with her and complete arrangements for their divorce..." |
| November 59 | is onboard Lance Fuller's boat, piloted by Fuller's pal, actor Alex Foster, when it hits a rock and sinks off Paradise Cove. She and Foster have to swim to shore. |
| 9 January 61 | wins a divorce from Ruffo in Los Angeles on testimony he failed to provide a home for her. He's 34; she's 27. She says he won't take her to his home in La Paz, Mexico, because he did not want his family to know about the marriage. Her attorney receives court approval of a settlement giving her $100 a month alimony for three years, $75 a month thereafter and $150 a month for support of her 3-year-old daughter Laura. |
| 3 July 61 | names Jessel in a paternity suit claiming he's the father of her unborn child. He's 63; she's 27. Jessel is ordered to appear for a hearing before Superior Judge Roger Alton Pfaff on July 27. He was first handed notice of the suit when he appeared as master of ceremonies in the swearing in of the mayor of Los Angeles, Samuel Yorty, on June 30. Jessel says that at his age the accusation is a compliment, and, "Joan is a nice girl. I am willing to help her." She says, "George and I are not mad at each other." |
| 5 July 61 | requests a court order in Los Angeles restraining Jessel from disposing of his assets pending trial of her paternity suit against him, saying she expects his baby in December. She contends that Jessel's permanent place of business is in New York and that he may transfer his holdings to California, causing her and her unborn child "irreparable damage." |
| 7 July 61 | drops her paternity suit saying she and Jessel will probably marry. "My divorce from my first husband becomes final in January and we'll probably be married then." Jessel says he has "no plans to wed a married woman." |
| Mid-July 61 | Jessel announces he’s reached an out-of-court settlement with her and insists he won't marry her |
| Late July 61 | Jessel announces he intends to marry Marjorie May, "another 27-year-old actress" |
| 27 December 61 | her daughter Charris Carla is born in Hollywood |
| February 61 | Jessel will consent to blood-group tests for use in the paternity suit against him |
| 16 August 63 | Jessel admits paternity of her daughter and agrees to pay $500 a month child support and take out of $35,000 worth of life insurance with the child as beneficiary. In addition, Jessel promises to pay her lawyer, Manuel Ruiz, Jr., $4,500 in fees. |
| August 63 | resides in Reseda, California |
| January 71 | has to apply for welfare when Jessel stops his payments |
| September 71 | Jessel is authorized by Los Angeles Superior Court to reduce support payments for their 9-year-old daughter testifying that ailments have prevented him from working recently. He claims that his income of $150,000 a year has fallen to almost nothing since he was injured while leaping from a helicopter being fired at by the Viet Cong in Vietnam two years ago. He asks that the payments to Joan be cut from $500 to $150 a month. The court decides the new monthly payment should be $300. |
| September 77 | her 16-year-old daughter Chrissie is reported looking for her father, 79-year-old Jessel, dropping in afternoons at his dilapidated house in Reseda, California, to fix him soup. Jessel will die at age 83 in 1981 in Los Angeles. |
| August 00 | dies at age 69 |
| Sources: Charris Jessel, Time, Appleton Post-Crescent, The Times Recorder, The Monessen Daily Independent, Nevada State Journal, The Lethbridge Herald, Pottstown Mercury, Redlands-California, Indiana Evening Gazette, Lincoln Sunday Journal and Star, The Lima News, The Post-Standard, The Hammond Times, The Coshocton Tribune, The Daily Gleaner, The Vidette-Messenger, The Herald-Press, The Odessa American, The News, Oakland Tribune, Edwardsville Intelligencer, Mansfield News-Journal, pro.Corbis.com, www.Ancestry.com | |
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| Links: Filmography | |